Rethinking Traditional Models
It's widely accepted that blogging has dramatically impacted organizational communications, but Don Wright (Boston University) and Michelle Hinson (Institute for Public Relations) added some new
twists at the 10th annual International Public Relations Research Conference. In a survey of nearly 200 executives in the corporate, agency and academic sectors, the pair compared findings to their
2005 report, revealing that:
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In 2005, 45% of respondents were aware of situations in which employees blogged; in 2007, that number rose to 65%;
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In 2005, 29% of respondents strongly agreed that it is ethical for employees to write and post negative statements about their organizations on a blog; in 2007, the number shrank to 7%;
and
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In 2005, 32% strongly agreed that it is ethical for organizations' representatives to monitor information posted on blogs by their employees; in 2007, it seems no one (0%) felt the same
way.
Additional findings did not compare 2005 and 2007 but were nonetheless interesting:
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53% of respondents agree or strongly agree that the emergence of blogs has changed the way their company (or their client's company) handles external communications;
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40% agree or strongly agree that blogs impact internal communications;
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38% agree or strongly agree that organizations should allow employees to blog during regular working hours;
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63% agree or strongly agree that employees should ask for permission to communicate on blogs during regular work hours; and
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59% said their organization did not have a written formal policy on employee blogging.
Corporate Boards (Don't) Take On Information Technology
Last week's Quick Study reviewed a Cranfield School of Management study that revealed corporate leaders' chronic weakness when it comes to information technology; this week, another survey ties
this trend to corporate boards. "The Board and Information Technology Strategies," a study released by Deloitte Consulting, surveyed more than 450 directors of publicly traded companies with revenues
of greater than $1 billion, and found that:
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10% of boards relegate IT matters to a board committee;
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Only 11% of boards discuss IT at every meeting;
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14% of boards are "completely an actively involved" in IT strategy; and
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22% of respondents blame aspects of IT strategy for the inability to achieve organizational goals, but 52% admitted that their boards would be spending no more time on IT over than next three
years than they do now.
In response to this troubling trend, PR executives must facilitate and perpetuate the importance of new technologies to their boards by integrating the use of new features into day-to-day business
activities. If IT is a part of every organizational function, boards will have fewer excuses to overlook its essential role.
Internal CEOs Win Popularity Contest
When it comes to replacing executives who have departed - an activity communications executives should be integrated into as it relates to succession planning - a Hay Group study of Fortune
magazine's list of America's Most Admired Companies found that 77% of these organizations' boards show a preference for internal candidates. Additional findings show that the Most Admired Companies
are, among other things:
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19% more likely than the peer group to provide expertise to the CEO and management on human capital issues;
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21% more likely to have a well-defined succession plan in place to prepare for the long-term replacement of the CEO and other senior executives;
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23% more likely to evaluate CEOs on success in developing human capital and evaluating financial outcomes and strategy implementation;
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21% more likely to have well-defined plans to cover the emergency loss of the CEO and other top executives, and to discuss the aforementioned plans at least annually;
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22% more likely to have a human capital strategy that has been reviewed and approved by the board;
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23% more likely to have developed a comprehensive profile for the CEO's successor that reflects the company's strategy and business model; and
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13% more likely to have an effective succession plan for senior executive positions.